


Count Down

by Skelitzel



Series: Writing Prompts and Requests [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Personal Challenge, Writing Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2016-01-27
Packaged: 2018-05-16 15:21:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5830609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skelitzel/pseuds/Skelitzel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Personal challenge with Treeni based off of writing prompt</p>
<p>The writing prompt was to include a count down from 10-0 in the story. We also added a rule that it would be written from sans' perspective. I wrote two mini stories. I went with a more subtle approach to include the count down in each of the stories. Hope  you like them!</p>
<p>Chapter 1: Angst</p>
<p>A genocide run written from sans' POV.</p>
<p>Chapter 2: Fluff</p>
<p>The human and sans have an established relationship, but monsters have not been received well by the public since reaching the surface. sans worries that the human will not want to be with him, as others make racist remarks and glare at them whenever they are together. The human gets tired of this, and asks him to make a decision to either stay with them or give into the cruel words of others and break up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Treeni](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Treeni/gifts).



> Be sure to check out Treeni's as well! It was really awesome seeing how we both came up with totally different ideas to use the prompt. :)

Ten. 

It’s been ten days since the human passed by here. You wake from your restless sleep and stare up at the ceiling. Your room is dark, but you don’t have the energy to turn on the flashlight taped to your lamp. You stumble through the shadows and down the stairs, into a now empty living room.

Bleary-eyed, you shudder as your footsteps break the silence of your once happy home. You numbly flip on the kitchen light and open the fridge. Nine containers of spaghetti and eight bottles of ketchup are all that remain. You retrieve one of the bottles and fall to the floor as agony grips your soul.

You can’t…

You don’t want to run out of the pasta just yet.

Breathing becomes painful and you claw at your sternum, trying to calm your soul. It’s drowning in misery and you shudder as the pain crawls down your spine.

“p-papyrus.” you mumble weakly as tears begin to fall. “your cooking skills were really improving.”

A sharp jolt in your bones causes your skull to snap up. It’s time. You leave the ketchup bottle where it lay and gaze at the red scarf that hung by the door. Anger and sorrow well up within your bones as you stride toward it, grasping it in your hands and pressing it to your face.

Seven. That’s how many souls were needed to make Asgore a god and free everyone from this prison. Six had been collected so far, and Undyne had been determined to capture the last one.

But…

You grit your teeth as tears stain the fabric.

She had failed.

You shake your head furiously, wishing it was that easy to shake off your grief. Loneliness aches within your rib cage as you tuck the scarf around your cervical vertebrae and step out into the cold.

Only to appear in a golden corridor.

They stand before you now. Eyes bright with malice and clothes stained with dust. They don’t even bother to listen to your taunt this time, and charge forward with knife raised. 

They swing.

You dodge.

They swing again.

You appear behind them.

Hissing in rage they swing their blade wildly in front of them. They’ve missed five times now, and before they can regain their footing from their last attack, you slam your hand upon the ground sending bones upward and breaking their body.

Reset.

They seem determined. They’re all ready back again. You smile at them without emotion.

“hmm. that expression…”

“that’s the expression of someone who’s died quice in a row.”

The human scowls at you in confusion and you chuckle darkly as you glare at them.

“quice? frice?”

“whelp, won’t have to use it again anyways.” You cast your gaze downward as you materialize gasterblasters. That makes four times I’ve killed the human.

Three blasters fire toward them.

They’ve learned your patterns and they know your tricks now. They’ve only been caught by two of your attacks and you’re running out of magic. They limp slightly, but otherwise appear unfazed.

“heh…guess it’s time for my special attack…” Your breathing is ragged and your bones ache. Could it be that the pain not only lingers after each reset, but it quantifies as well?

The human waits for an attack that will never come. They’re determined, but you will not let them leave this place.

Exhaustion consumes your soul and you struggle to stay awake. You see them running forward, and quickly step to the side. “heh, didja really think you would be abl-“ They swing again and you don’t have the time to react. You see the glint of metal fly toward your sternum and your vision is filled with their malicious grin.

They laugh as you stumble backward, clutching your shattered rib cage as your 1HP is reduced to 0.

“…so…guess that’s it then…” you choke as you fall to your knees. “don’t say i didn’t warn you.” Pieces of your rib cage fall to the floor and dissolve to dust once they reach the tile. You hug your arms closer around your body as you stand, “welp. i’m going to grillby’s.” You force a smile and shrug, limping away.

The world around you begins to turn black and you grab an end of the scarf, holding it against your mandible. “papyrus, do you want anything?”

The skeleton falls to his knees and dust hits the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

“We aren’t so different, you and I.” The human laughs as they clasp your hands between theirs. “We both have ten fingers and toes!”

“heh, you sure about that? i don’t think you’ve ever seen my toes.” you tease. You feel the magic rise in your cheekbones as your phalanges are warmed in their grasp.

The human just rolls their eyes and gives your hands a light squeeze. “Because you’re always wearing slippers! sans, we’ve been dating for nine months now. Will you quit worrying?”

You can’t help but glance around the cafe you’re currently in. It has been almost a year since the barrier was broken, but…human acceptance has not come easily. You look away quickly as you lock eyes with a mother. You hear her snort in disgust as she tells her children to stay far away from your table.

“Hey.” The human reaches across the table and rests a hand under your mandible, forcing you to meet their eyes. “Don’t worry about them.”

You pull your hands away and lean back in your seat. “i…i’m sorry i don’t mean to skullk, but…” You stare at the table as you mumble, “i…still don’t know why you’d want to date a monster when you could easily find another human to be with.” You met them shortly after arriving on the surface and…it almost seemed like they were just meant to be a part of your life. They fit right in naturally, and befriended the entire gang.

You jump as they slap their palms on the table, pushing their chair back with a loud scrap. Everyone in the cafe is looking at the two of you now. Well, they were before, but now it’s blatant irritation instead of concealed glares. Your rib cage thrums as panic they moved away from the table.

This was it. 

They were leaving.

You had figured they would eventually, but…

It’s your fault they’re leaving you now. You should’ve just left it alone. Let yourself live in bliss for a few more moments longer, but of course you couldn’t allow yourself that happiness. You allow your skull to droop forward again, not wanting to watch them go.

“sans.” Their voice is firm and you whimper softly, not looking up. They sigh and put their hands on either side of your face, stroking your mandible softly with their thumbs. “sans,” they whisper again in a softer tone before pressing a kiss to your teeth.

“Ugh, how disgusting!”

“Like, no one wants to see that!”

“Get out of here you freak!”

“You know what?” The human sits up and glares at the customers for the first time. “You can all just kindly shut up.” They rested a hand on your skull and smirked, pointing toward the kitchen. “The waitress and the chef have been sucking face nonstop since we got here and no one seems to mind, but,” they shake their head as sarcasm drips from their voice. “I share a single kiss with my boyfriend and everyone freaks out.” They cross their arms and stand in front of you, shielding you from the mob’s anger.

“hey, it’s fine. let’s just go.” you mutter at their back as you pull out the cash to pay for your coffee. You leave most of the cash you had on the table, including a hefty $8 tip, hoping that’ll appease the owners.

You grab their hand, keeping your skull angled downward to avoid the room full of angry and hateful eyes.

“sans. sans, wait.” The human stops after you’re a few blocks away, tugging their hand free.

“yeah?” you ask hesitantly as you turn to face them.

“Why do you let them talk to you like that? Why would you let them treat you so poorly?” Your eye sockets widen as you realize the human was crying.

“oh, oh no! it’s ok.” you say frantically as you try to console them. “i…i don’t know…it’s just easier to let them think that way than to try and argue or defend myself…”

The human flinches away from your touch and sobs. The sound sends a piercing pain through your soul, but you let your arms fall to your sides. The human doesn’t want you.

“Seven days.” They say firmly with their arms crossed.

“w-what?” Oh god, you hate seeing them cry. Nothing brings you more joy than to see them smile, especially when they’re smiling because of you. But seeing them upset completely destroys you.

They just shake their head. “sans, you’ve done this six days in a row now. You keep asking me why I’m dating you and why I’m interested in you.” They poked a finger into your sternum, “And you know what? I’m getting bone tired of it.” Their mouth twitches into a smile, but it quickly turns into a frown again. “You have a week to figure out what you want, and if you want to be with me.” Their bottom lip quivers as they straighten up and walk away, “I already know what I want, but I don’t think you do.”

You open your mouth to speak, but no words come as you watch them hail a cab and drive away. You groan and return home, walking straight passed Papyrus and shutting yourself in your room. You really don’t want to talk to him right now.

Five days go by and you can’t get a hold of the human. Each time you call, it goes straight to voicemail. Afterward, they send one simple text ‘Have you made a decision?’ They stop responding for the day after you reply no.

Papyrus knocks on your door softly as he once again hears your cries of frustration and grief. “SANS? ARE YOU OK?” he asks gently.

“no.” you mumble, tucking yourself further under the covers.

He opens the door and carefully navigates through the mess of your room. “WHAT HAPPENED?”

“i screwed up.” You’re facing the wall and can’t see him, but you feel the bed shift as he sits down.

“COULD YOU TELL ME WHAT HAS UPSET YOU?” he persists quietly.

You sigh and explain the situation to him, each word driving another needle into your soul. He’s quiet for a moment after you finished, and drums his fingers on his kneecaps four times before saying.

“I DON’T UNDERSTAND, DO YOU WANT TO BE WITH THEM?” he asks simply.

“of course i do!” you exclaim as you sit up quickly and throw the blanket off of you.

He just chuckles and says, “THEN WHY DO YOU NOT TELL THEM HOW YOU TRULY FEEL?” He shrugs, “IT’S NOT REALLY THAT DIFFICULT OF A PUZZLE. THE SOLUTION IS VERY OBVIOUS.”

“b-because i-“ Mixed emotions swirl within your rib cage and you pull the sheets to your sternum again.

Papyrus sighs and pats you on the leg as he stands, “WELL, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME. IT WOULD NOT BE WISE TO BE LAZY ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS.” He just shakes his head as he leaves your room.

You watch him go and stare at the door as it closes. He’s right. Well, of course he is. Your brother is the Great Papyrus after all. You smile slightly and pull out your phone, informing the human that you are now ready to make your decision.

They choose to meet at a park and you breathe a sigh of relief. At least there won’t be as many people around.

Hopefully.

“Ok, sans.” The human says sadly, not meeting your gaze and instead focusing on the grass. They kick their foot back and forth, causing the blades to curve and sway. “What did you want to tell me?”

Fear, loneliness, anxiety, and worry all pound within your skull, but something much stronger thrums within your rib cage. You inhale a shaky breath as you rest your hand over your sternum and prepare to say the three most important words of your life.

“i love you.”

The human freezes and stares at you, “W-what?” their voice cracks. You can’t help but glance at their soul. They mostly seem confused, but there is a glimmer of happiness within.

It bolsters your confidence. “i said, i love you.” Their hands fly to their mouth as tears well up in their eyes. “oh, oh no! i didn’t mean to make you cry again!” You screwed up. You reach your hands out to them, but hesitate as you remember them pulling away from you before.

“sans!” they cry out as they wrap their arms around you. “I love you too!” You’re only startled for a few seconds, and you hug them close to your rib cage. You nuzzle into their neck and they giggle. “Ah, sans you know what?”

“what?” you say happily as you hug them tighter, never wanting to be away from them again.

“The two of us are a lot better when we’re together. It hurt so much being away from you.” they whispered into your clavicle.

“heh, you don’t gotta patella me. i don’t want to go one day without you ever again.”

They lean away slightly and smirk, “And how many anti-monster opinions are you going to care about now?”

Your soul thrums wildly with joy as they kiss you again, laughing as your magic tickles their lips.

“zero.”


End file.
